Hagerstown, Maryland. David Riddle of Cincinnati, Ohio broke Eric Clifton’s 17-year-old course record in winning the 49th annual JFK 50 Mile. Riddle passed Michael Wardian with about 5 miles to go and pulled away for the win. Wardian took the lead with a decisive move at mile 30, but Riddle bided his time and make a strong surge in the last miles for the victory. Wardian also finished under the old record.
Cassie Scallon of Watertown, Wisconsin won the women’s race in 6:31:37. It was Scallon’s fourth ultra victory of 2011. Meghan Arbogast of Corvallis, Oregon finished second and broke the women’s masters record by seven minutes. She also broke the 50-59 record by 85 minutes. Scallon and Arbogast posted the the third and fourth fastest times in race history. Ideal racing conditions prevailed throughout, with temperatures hovering near freezing at the start, and warming to the upper 40s by early afternoon in the bright sunshine.
Men
1. David Riddle, 30, Cincinnati, OH, 5:40:45 (course record, old record 5:46:22 by Eric Clifton, 1994)
2. Michael Wardian, 37, Arlington, VA, 5:43:24
3. Jeffrey Buechler, 37, Mattoon, IL, 5:53:25
4. Kalib Wilkinson, 26, Lynchburg, VA, 6:05:05
5. Michael Arnstein, 34, New York, NY, 6:07:54
Women
1. Cassie Scallon, 29, Watertown, WI, 6:31:22
2. Meghan Arbogast, 50, Corvallis, OR, 6:35:16 (masters record, old record 6:42:50 by Anne Riddle Lundblad, 2007; 50-59 age group record, old record 8:00:31 by Barry Salisbury, 2006)
3. Elissa Ballas, 32, USAF Germany, 7:01:39
4. Karen Benway, 39, Warwick, RI, 7:07:35
5. Ragan Petrie, 45, Arlington, VA, 7:08:00
Photo: David Riddle at the 2010 Mountain Mist 50K (courtesy Fleet Feet Huntsville)